Today is the last day of the 2011-2012 Georgia Legislative Session. I thought it would be good to list each bill that reads on the Hope Scholarship along with the title. I’ve also added my comments on some of them.
As of today’s final session, none of these appear to be on track for becoming law. This means that the Hope funding for Georgia will most likely remain pegged to the 2010-2011 tuition costs. So, the amount required to be covered by each student will rise $1 for $1 with tuition and fee increases.
Here are the bills:
HB 837:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 20-3-519.5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to eligibility requirements for HOPE grants, so as to lower the minimum cumulative grade point average required for maintaining eligibility for a HOPE grant; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“I’m not sure what the thinking is on this bill. It lowers the GPA which tends to go against the whole concern of funding availability”
HB 1147:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Code Section 20-3-519 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions relative to HOPE scholarships and grants, so as to revise the definition of the term “Zell Miller Scholar”; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“This would change the Zell Miller requirements from a GPA of 3.7 and SAT of 1200 to being in the top 3% of graduating class. The problem with this is that one school’s top 3% may be another school’s “B” students. It would tend to put too much emphasis on school than on student, I think.”
HB 1155:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 7 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to HOPE scholarships and grants, so as to limit the number of Zell Miller Scholars at eligible public postsecondary institutions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“This bill puts a limit on Zell Miller scholarships that a college can have based on taking the total Zell Miller Scholarships and prorating the “allowed” number based on the schools undergraduate enrollment. For example, if a university has 10% of the states undergraduate enrollment, then it can only have 10% of the total state’s Zell Miller Scholarship recipients. I guess I don’t understand the need for this. Let kids go to the college that they want to go to. Why penalize them or the university that might have “too” many Zell Miller scholars.”
HB 1156:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 7 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to HOPE scholarships and grants, so as to add a maximum annual household income requirement for purposes of eligibility for HOPE scholarships and grants; to provide for an annual determination; to provide for hardship waivers; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“This puts and income cap of $140,000. If you exceed this, you are not eligible for HOPE. There are waivers for extenuating circumstances (family size, disabilities, etc…).”
HB 1157:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 7 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to HOPE scholarships and grants, so as to revise the definition of a Zell Miller Scholar; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“This is a tweek on HB 1147. It keeps the GPA and SAT requirements. It removes the valedictorian or salutatorian eligibility and adds top 3% of graduating class instead. So, eligibility would be: GPA of 3.7 and SAT of 1200 OR top3% of graduating class.”
HB 1237:
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Part 7 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to HOPE scholarships and grants, so as to provide for a scholarship for attending out-of-state institutions; to provide for forgiving repayment of such scholarships for students who return to this state; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
“This allows for scholarships to be used for attending out of sate colleges as loans. If the student returns to the state of Georgia to live after graduating, the loan is forgiven at a rate of $15K/year. Qualification is a GPA of 3.8 or higher.”
I think this covers them all. As you can see, many interesting ideas. However, none of them address the true problem with the program and that is the out of control expenses on the college spending side of the equation.
